3 LI police departments get state grants for crime fighting

Three local Long Island police departments were recently named by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as recipients of state grants to help with crime fighting.

In a statement he identified the Town of East Hampton, which got $23,900; the Village of Garden City, given $30,000, and the Village of Rockville Centre, which got $40,000, as among 27 police and four sheriff departments around the state on the grant list.

"These grants will help local Police and Sheriff departments purchase the tools they need to fight and prevent crime," Cuomo said in the statement.

In a separate but similar State Division of Criminal Justice grant -- which was not mentioned in Cuomo's statement -- the Lake Success Police Department received $22,150 to purchase a license plate reader and funds to cover overtime for burglary investigations.

Rockville Centre's money was for increased patrols to target robbery and car larcenies.

"Grants like this help to provide the tools we need to fight and prevent crime," said Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario.

He said the village's major crimes were down 25 percent in 2013 from 2012, and "we hope to build on that with the grant."

SEE PHOTOSNotable LI crimes

In Garden City, which will increase patrols to target car larcenies and burglaries, Police Commissioner Kenneth O. Jackson, said: "We place a high emphasis on these crimes, and this will assist us in our ongoing efforts to make the community safer."

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said: "In this time of tight budgets, the state grant will fund additional police presence and patrols throughout East Hampton Town."